Maze crops up on local farm

Submitted photoThe Brummer Farm's Corn Maze in Greenwood Twp. as seen from the sky.

Corn to the left, corn to the right and corn in front and behind. I must have made a wrong turn.

Am I in the cow’s udder or the pig’s foot?

Honestly, I didn’t pay much attention to the map Pete Brummer gave me before I entered the Brummer Farms Corn Maze in Greenwood Twp. I am, after all, a man.

I had no worries.

A left turn followed by a right turn and a bit of turning around, I exit the five-acre maze after 15 minutes inside.

“A new record,” Brummer said to me as I exited.

The maze opened Labor Day weekend, and is a first for the Brummers. That first weekend, the farm had about 50 visitors.

From the sky, one can see the shapes in the maze — a cow, pig, peep and flower. A rooster is the smaller maze, for young children and those who don’t want to walk much.

“There’s not a maze real close by,” Brummer said about his motivation. “Plus, it’s a way to increase income.”

The maze design was the Brummers’ idea, and was put into the corn by a company that used a zero-turn mower and GPS unit to cut through the five acres.

Brummer and three others then went through the maze and cleaned out the 1.9 miles of walkways and paths. In total, Brummer estimates the work took about 12 hours.

“It really looked good,” Brummer said. “We had concerns about the dry weather ... but the corn has pretty good height to it.”

The Brummers, Pete and his wife Heather, have had their farm for 12 years. They focus primarily on vegetables and crops, but have some livestock. They and their parents also operate a market in Port Royal, Juniata County.

“I’ve been around vegetables my whole life. It’s nice to know the customers and have the maze entertain them,” Brummer said.

Through two weekends, Brummer said business has been very good, despite their having no idea what to expect. No one has gotten lost yet, which always is a plus.

“I had one guy tell me he almost got claustrophobic,” Brummer said. “But, his kids had fun.”

How long did it take Brummer to complete the maze? “I went through without a map and took probably 30 minutes. But, I’ve been through it several times, so I had an idea where to go and where not to go.”